Unperfect
by FinalFuntasy
Summary: In a perfect universe, after a perfect ending to the Reaper wars, a new Spectre honoured for her actions sets out to use her own status for personal gain.
1. Chapter 1

**Unperfect**

"We are coming to you live from the Spectre recognition ceremony where, in just a few short minutes, the council will begin promoting the best of the best N7 soldiers who put everything on the line in the fight against the reapers. Such illustrious names as Justicar Vida and Warlord Kameer rub shoulders with relative unknowns, who have proved themselves worthy on the field of combat. It is only fitting that this occasion takes place on the anniversary of V-day, the final day of the reaper wars where the Human Spectre Commander Sheperd gave their life to end the war….it appears our first guest is arriving and it looks like the Vorcha rep….." The screen shut off with a blink.

"Relative Unknown!?" Exclaimed the woman in blood red armour, stroking her golden hair from her glistening blue eyes, "Bet that bitch has never been to Omega" She shot a piercing crystal stare at her Quarian comrade.

"I think there are enough bitches on Omega already" The Quarian replied staring into the darkness on the screen, fidgeting with the rim of her purple hood. "And all of them are better known than you" The blonde woman smirked, before leaning forward and rapping her fingers on the dark glass barrier in front of them.

"Hey Driver" The barrier faded to reveal the Turian sat at the wheel paying intense concentration to the way ahead. "I'm hungry"

"There is a minibar available, Miss Minnows"

"I don't want any of that fancy low dextro crap, I want meat, Varren"

"I'm sorry Miss Minnows but I have orders to take you straight to the ceremony"

"Fine, let's get this over with, I'm fucking starving"

"You doo realise you're being made a spectre, you could treat it with a little more respect" The Quarian interjected stealing a pack of sweets from the minibar and tucking them into her suit. "You deserve it after Thessia"

"You were there aswell, so what about you?"

"I didn't punch a Reaper"

"To death" The woman grinned slouching back into her chair and flicking the television back on with her omni-tool.

"You Viscount Krhar of the Vorcha, ahem, empire are hereby honoured with Spectre status. Your duty will be to the council above all else, you will answer to us and us alone, and may take any measures deemed necessary to get the job done." The Turian councillor spoke with a grimace, his hands placed firmly behind his back, apart from the air quotes of course.

"This is indeed an honour and you are the first of your kind to bear it" The Salarian councillor added enthusiastically.

"Perhaps we'll soon see another saviour of the Galaxy" Joked the Asari councillor, glancing over at the human Councillor Hackett.

"Please report to the Citadels restricted docks where a new ship and crew will be waiting for you" Hackett added professionally

"You honour me your majesties" Krhar hissed spinning on his heels, his ceremonial cape twirling as he did.

"Why do we need to make one of his 'race' a Spectre" The Turian lamented when Krhar was firmly out of earshot.

"Because it shows we are a progressive council, we honour each of the races that participated in the Reaper wars, it's called politics you should be aware of it" Hackett spoke wryly with a slight grin upon his face.

"I understand giving this status to citadel races even the Krogan deserve one or two but but them?"

"Would you rather have them on the council?"

"The next person in here better not be a Rachni"

"She's human, one of our finest, she used to be a member of the Talon Mercenary Group on Omega"

"A 'Criminal'"

"She managed to take down a reaper destroyer with only a Quarian, Krogan and an Elcor. If there is anyone who truly deserves to become a Spectre today, it's her"

"Well then I guess nobody 'deserves' to become a Spectre then" The Turian councillor hissed.

"Am I interrupting?" Minnows shouted as she skipped up the steps into the council chambers, "I can come back later if you want, after all how often does a once in a lifetime opportunity come around"

"No Miss Minnows you're quite welcome" Hackett responded proudly.

"Please, call me the Bitch"

"I'd rather not" The Asari councillor promptly protested.

"Why would we ever call you 'The Bitch'" The Turian councillor asked, making use of his fondly loved air quotes.

"Same reason you're making me a Spectre, I punched a Reaper to death" The councillors took pause, even Hackett appeared in disbelief.

"You punched a Reaper..."

"To death"

"You mean your punched a vital component causing the reaper to malfunction?" The Salarian councillor added attempting to make sense of what he had just heard.

"Nope, just ran up and..." The Bitch made a clicking sound with the corner of her mouth as she mimed her heroic actions.

"Very well" Councillor Hackett declared interrupting the silence. "We hereby grant you Spectre status, you will answer to this council and this council alone, and you are permitted to whatever means necessary to get the job done"

"You may report to the Citadel's restricted docks where a new ship and crew will be waiting for you" The Asari councillor explained.

"I'll provide my own field squad but I'll take the rest of that shit" The Bitch claimed. The Salarian councillor cleared his throat.

"Very well, from this day forth you, Jessica Minnows AKA...The Bitch, shall be a Spectre. Your ship is waiting for you"

"Thanks but there's a little detour I need to make first"

"Make it snappy, you'll recieve your first assignment when you get to your ship" Hackett commanded as The Bitch merrily skipped down the stairs.

"She 'punched' a Reaper?"

"To Death"

"Yeah, sure she did buddy" The Salarian C-Sec officer taunted as he forced the Krogan into the holding cell.

"Yuh-Huh, and she just became a Spectre, so she'll show up any minute to bust me out"

"Well my daddy just built a Reaper, so if you go anywhere it'll blast you" the Human officer mocked as he sat at his desk.

"Yeah, and she'll punch it to death" The Krogan barked hopping onto his bunk

"You guys have got to hear this" Shouted the Turian officer as he marched a struggling Quarian into the prison block. "Caught this one stealing Cerberus technology from a secure vault"

"Quarians"

"Guess what she told me?"

"What?"

"Her friend and CO just became a Spectre...for punching a Reaper"

"To death?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" The human officer simply pointed at the Krogan in the cell.

"Hey M.T" The Quarian shouted.

"Sup" Replied the Krogan with a curt nod.

"She'll be down here in no time, just you wait" The Quarian declared aas she stumbled into the cell. "So M.T, did you already tell them?"

"Yeah but for some reason they don't believe me"

"Sceptics"

"Alright!" the Human officer shouted jumping from his chair "You two better stop talking about this mutual friend, who might I add will never bust you out, before I fudge this paperwork and lock you up for life"

"Hey Human what's that phrase, speak of the Devil and She appears?" the Krogan muttered.

"So I'm the Devil now am I?" The Bitch cried jumping to the bottom of the stairs.

"And we your humble demons" M.T responded, a wide grin lighting his face.

"So you're the Spectre that punched a Reaper?" The Salarian asked sarcastically.

"To death" The Bitch added "It's always more impressive when you add to death"

"I'll keep that in mind"

"To death" The Turian said, invoking laughter in his colleagues.

"These two are mine, M.T and Holi."

"These two aren't going anywhere, unless you can post their bail, and even then I'm not so sure"

"But I'm a Spectre"

""Please stand in front of the scannner and we'll see if that's true" The Human officer said gesturing to the DNA scanner on his desk. The Bitch strolled past the Turian and Salarian and their imposing glares, and hopped into place in front of the scanner. "OK, Jessica Minnows"

"Call me The Bitch"

"No, Jessica Minnows, 36, Blonde hair, Blue eyes yadda yadda oh...Shit"

"Hmmm" The Bitch grinned slyly

"Spectre status recognised" The human officer leant back in his chair, stroked his hands through his short black hair, sighed deeply and closed his eyes regretfully. "Free the prisoners"

"Free my field squad" The human officer nodded to his colleagues, who quickly ushered Holi and M.T from their cells.

"Where's your daddy now?" M.T mocked as he followed his commander up the stairs, away from the cell block. The Turian officer approached his co-workers at the desk.

"Do you Really think She punched a Reaper to death?"

The Bitch stepped into the elevator followed closely by her newly freed crew.

"So Holi what was it this time?"

"Cerberus turret"

"Do you still have it?"

"The parts I wanted"

"M.T"

"Hmm"

"What did you do?"

"I'll give you one guess"

"Starting a fight?"

"More like finishing it"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The Elevator doors opened slowly revealing an immense docking bay, with plenty of fresh new ships for all the fresh new spectres. The crews were mingling outside of their respective ships, there appeared to be at least one member of each known race in the crews. The Ships were all frigates from the respective races, The Bitch couldn't help but pity the crew hesitantly boarding the rough looking Vorcha war vessel, the aptly named Rotting Plague, lead by the arrogant looking Viscount Krhar his cape billowing down the boarding ramp. But she had wasted enough time judging her competition, she had her own crew to attend to.

"Commander Minnows" Barked the saluting human standing beside a mighty alliance frigate. "I'm lieutenant Cartwright, I'll be your second in command, this is the finest crew we could find, each hand picked by me to follow your commands without hesitation. This is head engineer..."

"In due time lieutenant" The Bitch interuppted sighing exaggeratedly. "And please call me The Bitch"

"Uh...right...ok, Commander...Bitch, will you be heading to your quarters?"

"Yes, I am so very tired. Tell the chef to prepare a banquet for my arrival"

"A banquet?"

"I'm feeling...Varren tonight" The Bitch stopped on the boarding ramp and span to face her field team, "And prepare some rooms for my Maids of honour"

"You mean guests of honour?"

"Who's Spectre?"

"...You are?"

"Right!" The Bitch marched past her crew lining the ramp, snatching a champagne bottle from a Salarian Medical Officer, and stopping just before the entrance of her ship. "I christen you...Kevin!" She cried as she smashed the glass bottle against the fresh paint job.

"You're scratching her!" bellowed who she could only assume was the pilot from amidst the sea of faces.

"Scars are sexy" Bellowed M.T as her followed his commander onto the vessel.

Minnows strolled along the bridge, everything was so clean, it felt dirty. She gazed out from the cockpit, beyong the arms of the citadel, and into the breathtaking blackness of the universe. She smiled grimly, pushing herself away and back towards her station among her crew.

"Holi, put it back" She demanded as she passed the Quarian who relinquished the Phalanx pistol she had swiped from Lieutenant Cartwright.

"The council are ready to give you your first assignment Commander. The comm link is on level two" Cartwright explained as he snatched his pistol back from Holi's hands.

"I was just looking at it" Holi whispered

"Holi, M.T let's meet the council" The Bitch ordered marching to the elevator. The doors swiftly opened and they eagerly stepped inside.

"Haven't you already met the council?" M.T asked

"Yeah, they made you a Spectre" Holi added

"What I meant to say is that you two were going to meet them" The Bitch defended

"But you didn't say that" M.T countered

"You knew what I meant" The Bitch cried

"That's not the point"

"If you actually said what you mean, instead of hoping we'll know" Holi quipped

"Like that time in Rio"

"Poor Jax"

"Never saw it coming"

"Took his arms clean off"

"Just...uh...OK!" The Bitch shouted as she stepped onto level two. "Excuse me" She asked the lone Asari waiting to board the lift. "Am I in the right place?"

"Depends on what you're looking for" The Asari replied with a grimace.

"Wel clearly this isn't the fun factory" The Bitch responded, pretending to tickle the Asari, who responded by not moving an inch. "The Comm Link?"

"Down the hall, to your right"

"Thanks" The bitch strolled forward, but stopped shortly and turned on her heel to face the Asari. "Do you work here?"

"I'm the head engineer, we almost met outside"

"You're an engineer?" Holi sneered folding her arms.

"Head Engineer. Is something wrong?"

"You aren't Quarian"

"My mother was" The Asari spat at the mention of it, stepping heavily onto the elevator. "One of them anyway" The doors closed swiftly.

The Comm link activated, a shimmering blue hologram of the council appeared before them.

"Commander Minnows" Hackett started, saluting the recently crowned spectre. The Bitch sighed and rolled her eyes. "We have decided on your first assignment" The Bitch looked around the room, she swept the golden hair from her eyes whilst turning back to the Council and giving an almighty shrug.

"Your 'Mission'" Councillor Sparatus began condescendingly. "Is to investigate some Cerberus stragglers"

"Cerberus?" M.T enquired, folding his arms lazily.

"Yes, Cerberus. Since the end of the Reaper Wars we have taken control of Cerberus Headquarters. Cronos Station." Cpncillor Tevos explained calmly "However there is no trace of The Illusive Man"

"Guess he deserves the name" The Bitch interrupted.

"Quite, however we do have leads on the location of remaining Cerberus cells"

"Your duty" Councillor Valern continued "Is to investigate one of these cells and discover the location of The Illusive Man or what Cerberus' next step is"

"Ok so where are they?" The Bitch emplored, folding and flexing her tattooed arms.

"We intercepted a transmission from a cell orbiting Turvess, the Raloi homeworld, The Raloi were fortunate to have been left untouched by the Reaper Wars. The Cerberus cell mentioned landing and investigating further"

"Raloi Homeworld, got it, bye!" The Bitch shouted as she kicked the Console forcing the image to disappear with a blip. "They could have started with that" She sighed storming back to the bridge.

"Commander" The lieutenant barked as she passed him in the hallway, saluting as he did.

"What is it...uhhhh" The Bitch sighed nervously gazing at the ceiling, searching for a memory.

"Cartwright Commander. Lieutenant Cartwright" Cartwright continued saluting, The Bitch paused for five agonising seconds, before gesturing wildly at the Lieutenant. "Oh, er , right what are our orders?"

"Orders...OK" She grinned menacingly "Head to the Raloi homeworld, Duress? Matress?"

"Turvess?"

"That's the one, go there then sit back and watch us kick ass!" She gestured to her field crew, stood imposing behind her.

"Roger, Commander" He saluted again "The journey will take a few hours, uh, while we wait may I ask you a question?"

"You may ask. I may not answer"

"We were informed that you were supplying your own field team"

"That isn't a question" M.T questioned

"Is this it?" Cartwright asked, scanning across the imposing Krogan and fidgeting Quarian.

"This is the greatest damn field team ever assembled...bar one. We may be thieves, murderers and I'm pretty sure one of us is a drug addict, but together we are unstoppable."

"It's just that most Commanders I've worked with have at least six guys, and several others as back-up"

"Would you rather have one gun or a thousand bullets?"

"Honestly, both of them would be useless without the other"

"Exactly" The Bitch declared, proudly pushing past Cartwright and storming toward an idle crew member. "Are our rooms ready yet?"

"Th..They are Commander. How did you know I was responsible for that? We've never spoken before" The flustered crew member responded, her cheeks flooding red.

"I didn't, you're the fifth person I've asked...So where are they?"

"Your Quarian companion has a room down in the engineering bay, we thought she'd be more comfortable there"

"Racist" Holi sneered

"We've prepared the loading bay for your Krogan friend. We figured he'd need a bit more room"

"Words hurt you know" M.T snarled

"...Um, and of course Commander, you have a private cabin on the top level"

"Of course I do"

"Hey, Bitch, I'll trade you" Growled M.T punching his fist into an open palm, "Your life for that cabin"

"Try me" M.T leered for a moment, meeting The Bitch's gaze, he clenched his fists tightly and began to bare a fearsome snarl.

"Haha, Just kidding, it probably won't be big enough" He spat looking at the other crew member, who turned away and started fiddling with her omni-tool.

"Get some rest" Demanded The Bitch as she swivelled on her heel. "We'll need it"

The Commanders cabin was bigger than any room she had owned before, maybe even all of them combined. There were so many personal amenities, a private bathroom, her own personal bed, a localised sound system, a gigantic fishtank and a blinking intercom. Oh. She strode over to the door, slamming her Ryncol down on the sleak, chic table. She groaned to herself as she looked over the myriad of buttons and pressed one at random. The door swiftly slid open allowing the Asari Head Engineer to force her way in, grab the Ryncol, take a sip and sit at the end of the bed.

"Why are we heading to Turvess?" The Asari asked between sips.

"Something, something Cerberus" The Bitch turned to her trespasser

"You don't give a shit about Cerberus"

"The Council do"

"You don't give a shit about the Council"

"Sorry this is terribly rude" The Bitch proclaimed in her poshest accent, walking to the Asari and stretching out her hand. "I'm The Bitch"

"Christia"

"Well, Christia, why are you so concerned with where we are going?" The Bitch sat on the bed next to Christia.

"You're from Omega" She offered The Bitch some Ryncol, the offer was quickly accepted.

"I am"

"I thought the first thing you'd do is head back"

"Well I need to at least pretend I'm doing my job" She threw herself backwards onto the bed, "Why does it matter anyway?"

"I'm from Omega too. I've got a job lined up there, when I get back"

"Doing what? Rigging casino games? Tricking out cabs?"

"Stripping" The Bitch spat out her Ryncol in a fine mist of saliva and alcohol that lingered in the air.

"Stripping?"

"Stripping"

"_Stripping, _Stripping_"_

"I think we've successfully established that I'll be stripping"

"But you're the Head Engineer, on a shiny new ship, with a shiny new Spectre!"

"I hate Engineering"

"Then why are you the Head Engineer, on a shiny new ship, with a shiny new Spectre?"

"My Mother, Asari Mother, is a scholar, the Quarian one a technician. They both wanted me to study through my Maiden phase, instead of killing and fucking like everyone else"

"So this is your chance to do that?"

"No, I've done it before, in the wards, but my Mother found out"

"Which one?"

"Does it matter?"

"...Yes?"

"The point is, I felt more exhilarated, more alive and powerful during those three weeks than I ever have as Head Engineer. So as soon as you dock in Omega, I'm leaving" Christia pushed herself off the bed and strode toward the door. "That Quarian of yours seems like a decent enough replacement, if she doesn't steal the drive core that is" The doors slid open

"Christia, wait" The Bitch rolled off the bed and jogged to the Asari "How is stripping powerful?"

"It doesn't matter what race you are" She began to stroke her hands gently along her curves. "Men will do anything to get a look at this" She dripped her head spread her legs and pushed out her hips, before slowly, sensuously raising her head and biting her lip. "Women too"

"I...I'll bet" The Bitch stammered, fanning her flushed cheeks.

"See you, Commander"

"Seen enough from you Christia" The bitch hesitantly retreated to her bed, she took a long sip of Ryncol and sighed deeply as she fell into a sound sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Commander" Blared Cartwright's voice from over the bedside intercom. "Commander" The Bitch punched the speaker and held her finger down on the response button.

"Give me time to wake up Cartwright?"

"Forgive me Commander, but we've arrived at Turvess, We've been orbiting for two hours, I've been calling you for just as long"

"Well then...maybe you should call harder"

"...what?"

"Nevermind. Tell Holi and M.T to meet me at the transport shuttle"

"Roger Ma'am"

"And prepare a transport shuttle"

"Roger, again" The Bitch pushed herself lifelessly from the bed. She removed her armour from it's storage unit, the blood red breastplate, the black spiral down the one intact sleeve. She preferred to bare a fully tattooed arm as she fought, which she had become accustomed to in her time with the Talons. Her helmet was scarred beyond recognition, she had begun to chart a tally of lives she had taken, but the Reaper wars had turned it into a blur. She clumsily clung onto the visor as she made her way to the elevator and mashed the loading bay button on the console. She clambered into the small metal box and she leant against the back of the lift. The doors opened and she was greeted by Holi, M.T and Cartwright, who was saluting.

"Sleep well?" Holi asked. The Bitch grunted.

"Aww poor princess" M.T added. The Bitch grunted loudly

"The shuttle is ready commander!" Cartwright barked loudly, eyes locked straight ahead, "May I join you on this mission? I'm trained to the highest of Alliance standards, and I'm quite the sniper"

"No" The Bitch moaned climbing into the vacant shuttle

"But..I"

"No"

"That's why we really call her The Bitch" M.T joked as he stepped on to the shuttle behind Holi and closed the door after them. The Bitch kicked the ground twice.

"Let's go!" She declared raising a fist in the air. The pilot took off plummeting through the sea of stars toward the lush green planet. The Bitch looked forward on the way down, through the atmosphere, millions of gigantic trees formed a formidable canopy in which thousands of large buildings were intricately crafted around the trunks. Gunshots rang throughout the forests, she looked around for the source. "Follow the sound" she whispered to the pilot. He turned slightly and shot straight for a clearing below. In the clearing was a lone Cerberus ship, and a dozen Cerberus Troopers looking at the treetops "Land" she cried ripping her Wraith shotgun from it's holster. The pilot opened the doors as he hovered a few feet from the ground.

"Alliance!" Cried a Cerberus trooper alerting half a dozen of his allies to The Bitches presence. The Bitch leapt from the shuttle and took shelter next to a gigantic tree stump, shooting blindly from cover.

"Holi, drones!" The Bitch demanded, as Holi crouched next to her releasing her drones one in attack mode, the other defence. "M.T get down here" M.T launched from the shuttle in a blur of biotic fury, causing it to rock heavily, and knocked a Cerberus trooper twenty feet across the clearing, his head slamming into the Cerberus shuttle. The Bitch peeked over the top of the stump, the bullets whizzing past her head, she counted six troopers shooting at her and Holi, three shooting at M.T, one unconscious, one was fighting a drone and loosing. The other seemed distracted by something else in the other direction. "Holi got anything else?"

"I have a turret, but I think that's a bit overkill, besides I haven't really tested it yet"

"Fine, well ready to get your own hands dirty for once?"

"No"

"Now" The Bitch leapt over the stump and shot an omni arrow straight into the chest of the nearest trooper. Holi changed her defence drone into attack mode, and popped off a few potshots from her new Phalanx pistol. M.T flew across the battlefield smashing his fists and face into troopers left and right, knocking some down and killing others, as he flew past The Bitch she ripped his Claymore shotgun from it's holster and fired of a couple of rounds into a Troopers faces, ripping from his skull. The Bitch surveyed the battlefield and picked out a Trooper as a blue ball of fury dominated the battlefield behind her, and Holi was helping too probably. The Bitch shoved her Omni-blade deep into the ribs of the Trooper and lifted him a foot off the ground before throwing him aside like a ragdoll.

"That's all of them" Holi shouted, having expertly surveyed the area from behind the stump.

"I didn't think we killed that many" the bitch pondered looking at the corpses with very precise holes in their foreheads.

"Speak for yourself" M.T shouted raising his fists triumphantly "That's why they call me the MurderTrain motherfu-" a single bullet took down his barrier, he turned furiously, spotting the smoking Predator pistol, and the Centurion holding it nervously. "Why don't you come over here so I can shove that gun up your ass" M.T murmured charging his biotics again. The Centurion span and began fleeing clumsily toward the trees, stumbling slightly, when suddenly a load crowing was heard from the trees.

"Oh no not again." The Centurion cried as he was lifted into the air by some unseen force. He grasped at the invisible device, choking on the very air he breathed. M.T dropped his charge stunned, Holi summoned a drone, The Bitch looked on eagerly. The Centurion was slammed into the ground, wheezing heavily, as the infiltrator dropped his cloak to reveal a species completely alien to The Bitch. It wore a dark hood, adorned with shadowy feathers that draped across it's back. It's combat armour bore blackened patterns that stretched from it's wide arms to it's spine. It had long spindly legs, making it almost seven feet tall, with one of it's talons wrapped around the Centurions neck. It's clawed hands gripped tightly around a modified sniper rifle, of unusual origin that appeared to have had the scope removed. He held the barrel of the rifle against the Centurions forehead, and coldly pulled the trigger.

"Who are you?" The Bitch demanded, stepping in front of M.T, arms folded muscles flexed.

"I could ask you the same thing"

"Will you?"

"What?"

"Will you ask me the same thing?"

"I...don't even...what?"

"Who are you?" The strange figure lowered his weapon and lifted his hood, a large beak shape masked covered his face, the sun glinting off the edges, and large black feathers streaming down his back.

"I am Stevan Ravinski, Cassow to the King"

"I'm The Bitch, Bee to the Itch"

"She's a Spectre" M.T interrupted pushing The Bitch forward

"A Spectre?" Ravinski proclaimed "I was wondering when I'd meet one" He stepped forward and appeared much taller than previously thought, at least another foot. "You don't look like much"

"Come say that to my fist" The Bitch demanded clenching said fist.

"Calm down" Ravinski implored kindly "I just meant you aren't much physically"

"Again come say that.."

"No I meant you are shorter than your subordinate"

"Seriously!"

"Here your status is greatly...influenced by your height"

"Is that relevant?"

"Not right now"

"Good, so why are Cerberus here?"

"Capitalising on war"

"War? The Reaper War?" Holi asked

"The war between the King and the Emperor, The final war as it's so optimistically named"

"And you fight for the King?"

"I do what needs to be done" The Bitch surveyed the myriad of corpses.

"Was this all of them?" She asked

"That depends"

"On what?"

"If you are including the other shuttles that landed"

"I'm obviously not" the Bitch sighed deeply

"I noticed at least six shuttle land, this one, four more like it around the forests and one larger ship landed in Neasta, at the King's palace. I believe a Cerberus ambassador will attempt to sweet talk the king, forge an alliance."

"What would an alliance gain them?"

"If they succeed they will have access to the most feared army in the universe.

"The Reapers?"

"The Rachni?"

"The Geth?"

"No...Us...The Raloi" Ravinski pleaded seemingly confused.

"No offence buddy but, uh, we've never heard of you before" M.T explained hamfistedly.

"You've...never heard of us? The Dreadhawks of Harlix? The Murder of Crolles? The war of Willoaek?" the three companions looked at each other and simply shrugged. "Fantastic!" Ravinski cried, "You'll see the Raloi in action first hand, you won't be dissappointed I guarantee it" He swung his rifle round onto his back and drew a grappling hook from his belt.

"Wait" Holi shouted, "Do you have an omni-tool?" Ravinski held up his arm, the familiar orange glow of the omni-tool materialised around it, he pressed a few buttons and linked into their communications channel.

"The Council made contact with us a few years ago, I consider this a souvenir. I should be able to hear you now, but we should test it" He grappled onto a distant branch and disappeared among the treetops.

"That Ravinski guy is such a tool" The Bitch remarked, evoking a smirk from M.T

"I can hear you"

"Perfect, Where to?"

"There it is, The palace of Neasta" It wasn't difficult to see, a grand building of glistening white wood, almost marble in it's appearance, built high atop the tallest tree in the canopy, thick arched bridges linked each building tower and rampart. "Some people say it was the first nest back in the time before weapons, before words, before war"

"Sounds boring" M.T mumbled crushing a fallen branch beneath his feet.

"All I'm saying is a small fire at the base of that tree, and whoosh" The Bitch stated clambering over the splintered remains.

"And all I'm saying is you will burn my home, family and planet to the ground"

"...Your point being?"

"We aren't doing it, we're almost there stop complaining" Ravinski was but a shadow in the treetops, occasionally leaping from platform to platform. "Look, there, as I said the largest envoy landed here"

"We can't see from down here"

"Looks to be twenty five outside maybe more inside, seems like the King has some of his Cassow outside"

"You'll be ok with killing your comrades?"

"Hm...Oh...yeah totally"

"You sound pretty cool with that"

"We believe death is the highest honour, we can discuss religion later, radio silence from here on out, I'll meet you inside, there's an elevator in the hollow of the tree"

"Yay more elevators" Holi moaned, before sneezing sharply.

"Twenty Five guys, think we can handle that?" M.T asked

"We killed twice as many on the way here" The Bitch responded slicing through the undergrowth with her omni-blade.

"Not all at once"

"We'll be fine"

"Are you getting worried in your old age?"

"More like eager" They reached the bottom of the trunk, the palace was swirling above them in the stars, but there didn't seem to be an entrance in sight, and the base of the trunk seemed at least ten miles in it's circumference.

"Where the hell is this elevator?" The Bitch moaned.

"To your right" Ravinski whispered

"What happened to radio silence?" No answer. They headed right clambering over roots and debris for at least half an hour when they spotted two guards, both seven foot tall holding similar rifles to Ravinski and scanning the distance. "Guards" she whispered. Holi sneezed, the guards turned, two shots pierced air, and two bodies hit the ground. "Thanks" They slipped past the corpses and onto the lift.

"So what do you think of Ravinski?" The Bitch asked. Holi sneezed

"I like him" M.T boomed

"Why's that?"

"He has a unique way of killing that I approve of"

"Shooting enemies point blank in the face"

Holi sneezed

"Brutal and effective, no wonder he claimed to be feared. But the way he used smoke grenades and flash bangs liberally to confuse and distract the opponent before swiftly moving in for the kill. It's chaotic but elegant."

Holi sneezed

"Still I'd rather fight him than you"

"Same here" M.T gushed.

Holi sneezed. As the platform of the lift opened up into the assembly hall, they saw hundreds of Raloi encircling them sat on high wooden benches lining the wall, a Gigantic throne twenty feet tall stood opposite them with a ten foot Raloi perched on the seat, with a delightful array of rainbow coloured feathers adorning his chest and head, a bright gold mohawk adding an extra foot to his height. A ripple of murmers began to spread through the hall gradually getting louder the longer they went on, and soon reaching a crescendo as The Bitch stepped off the platform and walked toward, who she assumed was the king. The Cerberus troops all had their sights locked on her, but seemed hesitant to pull the trigger, she counted twenty, mostly Troopers, five Centurions. Clearly they didn't take the Raloi that seriously, they would have sent a Phantom if that were the case.

"Greetings" The Bitch declared, immediately regretting her choice of words. The Raloi murmur built up again, until the king raised his fist in the air to silence them.

"Greetings, human" He spoke calmly, his voice quiet almost a whisper, but the hall carried his words in echo to her ears. "It appears you are an enemy of our guests, they are quite nervous of your arrival" he looked over the troops. "Well that much is obvious"

"I've given them good reason to be"

"And what reason is that?"

"I keep killing them"

"And do you intend to kill us"

"If we have to" M.T shook his head violently, Holi shrugged.

"Let's hope you don't have to" The king rose from his place and slowly walks down the polished steps to stand directly in front of The Bitch, crouching slightly, his shadowy eyes peered deep into her adamant blues.

"But why have you killed them?"

"...It's my job?"

"And it is my job to negotiate with those who approach in peace. You have brought war with you"

"I'm.."

"I like that. I have always liked warriors, and I have always enjoyed war. Why do these men deserve death?"

"Because they come to you under false pretences" Ravinski uncloaked, his rifle lowered, his gaze directly into the narrow black eyes of the king. "They claim to want your help, to redeem your actions, but they fought for the Reapers and they want to enslave you."

"Lies!" The lead centurion boomed.

"Silence!" The King declared his shout rocked the hall, and shook The Bitch. "This is a Cassow of the Emperor. If he dares to enter our palace, then he deserves to speak."

"I have come as a peace envoy, the Emperor wishes to form an alliance against, outside threats, such as Cerberus"

"We pose no Threat" The Centurion claimed stepping forward his hand firmly on the trigger of his Phalanx.

"Your actions speak otherwise" the king whispered, "Is it true you fought for the Reapers, the enemy that we shut down our communications to avoid, the enemy that began The Final War"

"We bow to no-one, they worked for us!" The king stood tall, he strode past the Cerberus troops and took his place back at the throne, he lifted his rifle and shot the Centurion who spoke through the skull. Other Raloi took up a similar action killing all of the Cerberus troops in the hall.

"The emperor truly wants peace?" The king continued as if nothing had just happened.

"He does, we all regret what we did to survive, but now is the time to make amends, I am here to speak on his behalf." Ravinski answered.

"Good, it appears our true enemy is out there, it is time we were unified."

"Cool... so did we win?" The Bitch asked stepping forward slightly.

"If your mission was to kill all Cerberus troops, yes"

"Oh, Shit!" She exclaimed, "We should have taken one alive for questioning.

"I'm sure we'll get the chance next time" M.T commented.

"Holi call the shuttle guy...I want to say Randy Handford" The Bitch commanded. Holi sneezed and left to the landing area outside.

"Hey Ravinski, you're pretty cool"

"I know I overheard you when you were on the elevator"

"Oh, well fancy joining the crew? We could use someone with your skillset"

"I'm sorry but, war is easy, peace is long and hard" Ravinski, placed his hand on her shoulder and nodded slightly. M.T sniggered. "If you are desperate feel free to contact me, I'm sure we'll have some satellites up soon"

"Cool...well bye" The Bitch shouted as she skipped from the hall to return to her ship.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Do you think we have time?"

"You're the boss" M.T leant back on the railing, his hump tapping the curved ceiling. The Bitch strolled up and down slightly, in smaller and smaller steps until she was eventually spinning on the spot.

"What does Holi think?"

"Hay fever sucks"

"I meant about Kevalk"

"I dunno, they didn't get on that well if I remember correctly"

"He did save her life on Thessia"

"So did you"

"And you"

"...She's not great at fighting is she"

"Remember why we called her Clusterfuck?"

"Screw it"

"What?"

"We're stopping" She strolled out from the hallway and across the bridge, Cartwright saluted as she passed, she skipped across the bridge to the cockpit. "Which one of you is the pilot?" Both chairs span round revealing a Human and...a Rachni.

"He's the lead pilot, I'm the co-pilot and, sort of, his translator" She eyed over the Rachni, who fidgeted with his...antennae thingys.

"Does he have a name?"

"...Not really, they're more defined by their roles in the colony, I guess he's Pilot."

"I'm going to call him Mr Wiggles"

"...I'm not sure if he'd like that"

"Do you have a problem with that, Mr Wiggles" Mr Wiggles looked over to the co-pilot, then back at The Bitch before turning on his chair and returning to the controls. "Hey we need to head to Dekunna...uh, what's your name?"

"Davids, Ma'am, Thoren Davids"

"Ok well, tell Mr Wiggles to head to Dekunna"

"He can hear you"

"Well I'm not saying it again" She turned and left the cockpit.

"You didn't have to"

The engineering deck was loud, excessively loud, it was homely. Hopefully Holi felt the same way.

"I have a god damn migraine" She shouted lifting her head from her bunk.

"Still acclimatising, huh?"

"Could you not bump me up a bit, first class or something?"

"It's fun watching you suffer"

"This is the first time you've been down here"

"Well you've not visited me in my cabin either"

"It's too far away, and it's in a bad neighbourhood. Besides we've been on this ship for a day" She sat down next to Holi's feet and put both her hands on the bed.

"We're going to see Kevalk"

"Oh" She sat up fully and pushed herself next to The Bitch. "Is he?"

"No. No he's still, still going"

"Good" She stepped up from the bunk and walked to the door.

"It might take an hour or two, you could use some rest, after your bout of the sniffles"

"I don't feel like sleeping right know"

"Me neither" The Bitch stared at her feet before standing up and heading for the door.

"HEY!" Christia yelled over the noise of the machinery.

"Oh, yay" She turned to face the fuming Head Engineer "Look I know-"

"Dekunna! What the hell happened to Omega?"

"Nothing, I hope. I _was_ born there"

"Why aren't we going back there?"

"We are. We're just making a little detour"

"Detour!? What am I supposed to tell my future employer?"

"Uh, your current employer has rejected your resignation?" Christia didn't seem to find that funny, she stared daggers at The Bitch before punching her in the shoulder forcing her way out.

"Does she have cameras or something...Mr Wiggles!" She snapped her fingers and head up to her cabin.

The shuttle down to Dekunna was slow and silent, she tried to speak, maybe make light of the situation, but they didn't really know the full situation, it hadn't changed much in the past few years, well not for the better at least. The cities weren't as big as those on Earth or even Turvess, but the Elcor are famously nomadic, travelling in herds. The fact that they actually built a capital city, and that it survived the war was damn impressive. Metanna hospital loomed into view, from here she swore she could see his room but then again the Elcor all look the same, or similar, that was racist.

"You guys ready?" M.T murmured

"As I'll ever be" The shuttle came to a stop outside the hospital The Bitch grasped a rail to keep herself upright. She breathed deeply and stepped out into the halls of the hospital. It was busy, frantic, for the Elcor at least, she didn't quite remember asking where he was, she didn't really need to, they had visited before and she imagined he was too big to move anywhere else. It always seemed far, too far away and the doors seemed to loom over them, although they must have, the Elcor are much bigger than she was, at least M.T wasn't complaining.

His family were inside when they entered, his wife, Daena, and two sons, Kenath and Dunkane.

"How are you?" She asked slowly stepping into the room, M.T and Holi behind her.

"Calmly, he is stable" Daena responded

"But how are _you_?"

"Defiantly, you did not come here to make pleasantries"

"...No"

"Reluctantly, we will leave you" They kept their word and left silently, Daena must still think this was her fault. She tried, she really did. Kevalk was a shade of pale grey, his left arm had been torn off by a Praetorian, and he had almost been disembowelled, he was lucky to be alive, and had been lucky for the past year.

"Hey, Warhammer" She took her place by the side of the bed, M.T sat in the seat left by Daena, Holi approached the window and looked outside, her hands quivered.

"Hello, Jessica"

"Call me-"

"We are past that, the war is over, no more codenames I am simply Kevalk now, you are Jessica"

"Holi and M.T are here"

"I know"

"Why aren't you doing the thingy?"

"What thingy?"

"You know uh...Sarcastically, you look really well"

"We are past that Jessica"

"...How are you?"

"Sarcastically, I'm fine" Jessica forced a grin, she stroked the hair from her eyes, and wiped a hand across her face.

"...Can we remove your bandages? I've always wanted to see an Elcor's insides"

"They are much like a humans, only bigger"

"Daena seems happy to see me"

"I have told her, Jessica, I have told her it wasn't your fault"

"Did she listen"

"I have told her, Jessica" Jessica scanned the room, M.T held a gruesome stare at Kevalk's stump, Holi couldn't bare to look away from the window.

" I got a new ship, and I became a Spectre"

"I heard, you will do well, you deserve it"

"I'll show you when you get better, There's plenty of room for you I made sure of it. We'll get you a prosthetic arm...and stomach I guess, I'll introduce you to my crew, obviously there's M.T and Holi, but there's our Cartwright, Christia, Mr Wiggles, you'll love Mr Wiggles he's a Rachni"

"Jessica"

"Then we'll have our awesome field team back in action, just like the war, flying round kicking ass, just avoid those Praetorians buddy.

"Jessica"

"Yeah"

"I need you to relieve me"

"What?"

"Of my duty"

"Oh Thank God"

"Your last order, was to not die...but I am afraid I cannot complete that command"

"You've survived so far"

"I have suffered"

"You'll...get better, you have to"

"I don't want to Jessica...I want to let go, but you have to dismiss me"

"I..." She choked back her tears, M.T stepped forward.

"Jess, you have to..."

"I know...I don't want to...I" She stood from her chair, her lip quivered, her body trembled, Holi pushed past her into the hallway, she saluted toward Kevalk. "Sergeant Kevalk, you...You are dismissed"

"Jessica" Kevalk choked "Will you stay?"

"Stay?"

"Until the end, To see me into the ground"

"Will Daena.."

"I have told her Jessica"

"Goodbye Kevalk" She turned and left the room, as Kevalk slowly closed his eyes. She fell back against the wall and forced her head into her hands, she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder as M.T sloped down beside her. "Call Mr...Mr Wiggles...tell him to land...I ...have to find Holi...she's just...she's too young"

"She's seen worse"

"She's seen you"

"Hehe yeah" The laughter was bitter, unnatural, but M.T left afterwards, quietly.

He passed the next day, it was peaceful or at least that's what the doctor claimed, and he didn't say it sarcastically so that was a bonus. Daena was reluctant to reveal funeral details but there was a week to pass before it was time. Christia was pissed off, but she can yell all she wants, some things are more important.

Holi was difficult to console, mostly because Jessica needed consoling herself, she would claim it was nice to share in grief, but any form of grief is agony. She didn't have a suit, she didn't have anything nice to wear, her military uniform wasn't quite appropriate, nobody want to see Talon colours at a funeral, she wore what she had, a dark hooded top and black jeans, she didn't intend to be seen, she didn't want to offend his family.

Holi was brave enough to attend with her, M.T was always going to be there, he seemed to have already grieved, maybe he knew this day was coming, or maybe he's seen his fair share of close friends die. The ceremony was...different, long, but appropriate for Kevalk, a lot of it was told through smell of sight, it was a mostly Elcor attendance after all, but some relatives and friends were kind enough to offer apologies to her and her allies, at least what they did would be remembered.

It's funny, strange, how hard it was to say goodbye, she had already done it once, but it seemed harder now, knowing. She didn't stay for the wake, she had overstayed her welcome it seems, she headed straight for her ship, parked nearby and was unfortunately greeted by Cartwright, saluting as always.

"Commander there is a message for you from the council"

"Not now Cartwright" She pushed past forlornly "It's been a long day. I need some rest"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"How are you feeling?"

"…Better" Holi answered forcing a smile.

"Good, We have work to do" Jessica said lifting the datapad from her side. "We've been given a new mission, ***ahem*** We the council, ask that you Spectre Minnows" she sighed "investigate a message we received from Overlord Garix of the Vorcha 'empire'" She mimed the airquotes "he requests Spectre intervention on a highly secretive operation and has also specifically asked that we send you, or failing that any Spectre other than Krhar" She lowered the datapad and brought a finger to her chin, "I wonder why they don't want Krhar?"

"Well he is kind of a dick" M.T uttered

"Other than that" She walked across to the galaxy map and located the Shrike Abyssal.

"Hey…uh…Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you drop me off on Tchuchanka?"

"…No"

"Look after what happened….I really miss my family, I haven't seen them in a while and figured, you know, no time like the present"

"But…what about trouble"

"I'm sure you can cause enough on your own" M.t smirked, The Bitch turned away, she looked at Holi, who gazed at her feet. She sighed heavily. "Look you'd be doing me a huge favour, I'd owe you one"

"So that would make seven in total"

"Well you never ask for favours"

"I never need them" She sighed once more, and shrugged her shoulders angrily "Fine, you can go and see your stupid family"

"Thanks" She changed the Galaxy map view to that of Tchuchanka.

"Mr Wiggles, we have a new course"

It seemed quieter on the way to Heshtok, the Vorcha homeworld, M.T had left them as they passed Tchuchanka. She had briefly gone down to greet his family, she hadn't seen them in a while. His partner Sera had given him a dozen sons since the end of the genophage, they had been together much longer however. It's funny how a fearsome race such as the krogan grow from such little, adorable things, althought heir predisposition to violence was evident throughout her short stay. She hadn't wanted to stay long, but finding out about M.T proved to be too intoxicating and before she knew it the hours had passed and they were well behind schedule. She had never seen him so happy, or so sad, the price of parenthood perhaps. If she dismissed him from duty, as she had done kevalk, maybe he would be luckier to spend more than a few days with his children. But now aboard the ship it was much quieter.

"What the fuck?" Christia shouted forcing her way into the captains cabin.

"How did you get through the door?"

"Head Engineer, I have my methods, why aren't we going to Omega?"

"Because it pisses you off and I find that hilarious." She smiled, Christia didn't. "The Vorcha are right next to Omega ok, we'll drop you off after our mission, go pick up M.T and then swing back to Omega"

"Why come back? I'm not rejoining your crew"  
"I know but me and M.T really want to embarrass you at work" Christia jaw was clenched, she looked around the cabin too angry to make eye contact with The Bitch

"Can't you just drop me off on Omega first?"  
"We're already way behind schedule"

"Why do you care about damn schedule!? Or the damn council!? Or the fucking Vorcha!?" She grabbed a glass and threw it across the room during her little tantrum, The Bitch tried to place a hand on her shoulder but it was furiously swiped away.

"I don't care, but I enjoy it"

"You've only been on one mission"  
"You don't understand Christia. Leave now"

"I want you-"

"Leave!" Christia turned and marched away, kicking over a trashcan as she went. The Bitch sighed and slowly walked over to pick up the glass, and pour herself another drink.

Heshtok was dark, dank, it seemed to be covered in a thick layer of black smog, she had heard rumours about the Vorcha becoming more industrious since the War but this seemed a stretch, she couldn't see any buildings, people, just black. She pushed herself away from the cockpit and summoned Lieutenant Cartwright.

"I want you to tell Holi and Christia to meet me in the transport shuttle"

"The Engineer"

"No the drag queen"

"…What?"

"Just get her"

"But commander she isn't proficient in combat, I would make a better choice"

"I know"

"Then...shall I not call Christia"

"I gave you an order" He saluted reluctantly

"Right away commander" She approached the elevator and slowly lowered to the loading bay. Holi was waiting for her when she arrived pacing nervously by the shuttle.

"You ok Holi?"

"I'm fine, maybe a little worried"

"Why?"

"We've never been on a mission without M.T before"

"We've never been to Heshtok before either, besides I've got someone just as good….well as angry as M.T"

"What do you think you're doing?!" Christia shouted

"Told you"

"I can't go on a field mission, I'm an engineer"

"So is Holi"

"I'm Head Engineer"

"Well then you're being outdone by your subordinate"

"Why not take Cartwright instead?"

"I'm ready commander" Cartwright was head to toe in Greenish grey armour, his Black widow rifle strapped to his back, the Phalanx at his side.

"I don't want Cartwright, I want you"

"But…I.."

"Surely you've had basic combat training, we'll wait a minute for you to get ready. So hurry up"

"Fine!" Christia stormed into the armoury and began stripping the walls. It took a while but eventually Christia was equipped, an arc pistol, Phaeston rifle, some tech armour and a handful of grenades. They hastily boarded the shuttle and shot off toward the smog.

The thick black smoke surrounded them, they were dependent on their instruments to give them guidance, sight was no good at this point. They experienced slight turbulence as they pierced their way through the atmosphere until, the black gave way to a reddened landscape, gigantic sharp buildings pierced the skyline, they tore up through a waste of stubbly houses at their feet, thousands of small figures milled around the narrow streets, people heading to work, going to shop of simply platoons of soldiers in training. Overlord Garix had quite the reputation, he used to be a member of the Blood Pack, the highest ranked Vorcha, his influence was obvious, he liked his men to train day in and day out. To be the best soldier of the best army, that was his goal. After the war the Vorcha elected him Overlord, on the grounds that he help them ascend to the ranks of the citadel, they had no money, they aren't very knowledgeable, but they are fierce, they can fight, and kill, and die. Those that couldn't or wouldn't fight, the few that there were, went into construction or retail, building a small economy and an imposing skyline. The first building they built was a palace, or at least what they believed to be one, the tallest building in their capital, it's myriad of sharp edges and uneven structure, on earth it would be call modern art, here it's a palace. It had its own landing bay jutting out from the South side, that is where they landed. Upon landing they were escorted by Vorcha soldiers direct to Garix's office, apparently the matter was incredibly urgent and incredibly secretive. Before them stood Garix, he was wearing skin tight body armour, battle worn, he had the remnants of a scar across his face, however it seemed the healing process was well underway. There was an Eviscerator shotgun at his hip, but in his hand he held a tainted and uneven glass, it wasn't hard to see it was made on Vorcha Homeworld.

"Spectre Minnows" Garix had a vile voice, he spoke calmly, but like Vorcha architecture, their voices were daggers in the vocal skyline. "I had expected you sooner"

"Family emergency"

"Those words could not be more appropriate" He seemed very eloquent, and well mannered, he poured a few glasses of watered down Ryncol and limped over to hand them to her and her colleagues.

"How so?"

"This matter concerns my, you're welcome for the drink by the way, my daughter. She is in danger"

"Again, how so?"

"There are some scientists, Vorcha scientists"

"Say no more"

"Alas, I must. They were handpicked by me, the brightest of the Vorcha, although they aren't on par with Salarians, still they are the best we have" He took a long, long sip "I asked them to create something, something to make our mark on the Galaxy to force our way onto the citadel" He paused, tapped his glass and gazed out the window, "A soldier" He turned to face them once again. "I asked them to create a soldier, they asked me for volunteers, children"

"Your daughter?"

"I'm getting there. They told me that we have great potential, potential for invulnerability, immortality, but only if we succumb to our fate before we reach adolescence. Our healing capabilities are well known, and many people have studied us, Salarian, Asari, Reaper, but none have come to the same conclusion, or if they had they found it too cruel to carry out"

"What conclusion?"

"I never knew about this…if I had….my daughter-"

"What conclusion?"

"They believe that if we subject them, the subjects, the children, to….experimentation they will adapt, they heal quicker, they change quicker, they evolve quicker. If we torture them they will become strong, far stronger than any Vorcha, far stronger than any soldier, far stronger than any being dead or alive"

"You're creating child super-soldiers"

"I am ending the madness, these scientists are resisting, they are using failed experiments as guards. They have killed every extraction team I have sent. They tell me my daughter is alive and that she is hope for the first of his kind, but they will not relinquish her to me."

"So it's hostage rescue? And the hostage is a super soldier? Why doesn't she fight his way out?"

"Her mind has been broken, as a side effect, she does what she is told nothing more. That is why their other, abominations obey to them without pause" She took a moment, and glanced back at her allies, Holi was pocketing some misshapen Vorcha jewellery, Christia was listening much more intently, and much more horrified. She took a long, long, long sip.

"Tell me Garix, you are very clearly a fan of making the Vorcha self sufficient" He eyed her nervously "Why is it you specifically asked for me and not Krhar?" He swallowed his drink and began to pour another.

"Krhar is too close to the Vorcha, he has too much influence and too loose a tongue. I cannot rip it out as I will lose the people, but I cannot risk him telling anyone for the same reason. Besides Krhar is a fool, have you seen his 'Ceremonial' cape, there is nothing ceremonial about it, his mother made it for him I hear. He likes to pretend he's a superhero, but he has done nothing since being granted his powers. You on the other hand, you managed to help the Raloi gain some credibility after their cowardice during the war, you were born on Omega so aren't afraid to get your hands dirty, and most importantly" He took an agonisingly long sip, "You don't give a shit" She sucked her lip, and looked briefly to the ground, noticing the cracked mosaic in Garix's likeness.

"Fine, where are they?"

"They are aboard a ship orbiting the planet above this building, a former pirate vessel that we had modified for its new purpose, The Black Infection"

"Sounds like an STD I….used...to have"

"It is tactical, like a brightly coloured toad, or worm, it makes predators think twice."

"Do you have any reconnaissance, to make our lives a little easier?"

"Only what I have told you, But I'm sure you'll be fine" his smile was a twisted thing, like much about the Vorcha, and the sooner she could leave and kill something the better.

They shot up back through the mire, this time knowing that it would eventually end. Still it seemed foreboding, something wasn't right about this, Garix is intent on making the Vorcha powerful through their own means, their own hand, why would he trust a human. The Black Infection loomed into view, It looked rusty, old, unassuming for a pit of torture there was little room to land, so they hand to jump out, luckily the ship was stable enough. They made their way to the aft of the ship and slowly pushed op[en the door. The lights flickered on and they were greeted by the sight of twenty barrels of twenty guns.

"Wait" Hissed a Vorcha, who stepped from the crowd, his skin was a dark shade of red similar to Garix, "They're aren't Vorcha" He said before stepping in line beside a colleague and whispering something to him. "Come with us, we will show you what he...what we have done"

"What do you mean?"

"Garix...follow me" They did as he pleaded who were they to argue with almost two dozen guns. It was a sterile, white environment, several glass cells littered the walls around them, but no captives were inside. Holi touched almost everything they passed seemingly looking for something that wasn't nailed down, Christia was much more reserved her Arc pistol held high and her free hand on a grenade. "We were the captives here...almost as much as the children. He took them from their parents, moments after their birth. Stillborn he claimed, so no one asked questions. They were never given names, we thought if we named them we might become attached. We did anyway."

"What did you do?"

"What didn't we do?"

"Give them hugs and lollipops?"

"Well...yes that, but we didn't do anything good. We burned them, suffocated them, shot them stabbed them. We had fifty subjects, only ten survived, nine of them...failures"

"So you believed in this?"

"For a time, Garix is quite convincing at least for a Vorcha, he made us believe in his dream, his vision, for a more powerful Vorcha race, we eventually succeeded..."

"...But the cost was too high?"

"Far, far too high. We stopped when we discovered" They were heading to a single door at the end of the hallway.

"Discovered what?"

"What he intended, that these immortals, as he named them, would be at the forefront of the Vorcha offensive, to invade and conquer, to spread the disease the universe believes we are."

"His daughter, my niece, another newborn at the start she will be his talisman, his proof to the people of what we can become"

"Wait...you're his brother?"

"Thanx"

"You're welcome...but seriously you're his brother?"

"Yes I am Thanx"

"Uh...Oh...OH...Ok...Thank, I'm The Bitch, I'm a Spectre. This is my crew, Holi, and Christia"

"A Spectre? Our luck has turned immensely" They reached the door, a small glass window looked in on a bare room, a small Vorcha sat in the middle clutching its legs to its chest. "There she is" The Vorcha stood up, she was a light shade of orange, she walked to the door, her eyes were just below the window, but she could see through when she stood on her toes. "She doesn't have a name yet, he never gave her one, and I never saw it appropriate to do so" The Bitch looked closer, she could see the scars, the burns, healing but evident, worst of all she could see the tears in her eyes. "Will you report back to the council, end this madness?"

"The council didn't send me" She felt the cold metal pressed against her temple, Christia and Holi drew their weapons, Christia clutching grenades and Holi ready to release her drones.

"I can't let you take her back to him, if he gets his hands on her"

"I want to talk to her"

"He has sent other extraction teams and we have killed them all, to defend ourselves"

"I want to talk to her"

"Why did he send you, he believes in the Vorcha why send you!"

"I want to talk to her"

"We can't let you leave!"

"Let me talk to her!" The bitch threw her weapons to the ground and ripped open the door, stepping into the padded cell and slamming it shut behind her.

"Are you here to hurt me?" She spoke with a soft tone, her voice was smoother than other Vorcha, Jessica wasn't sure whether that was due to her being the first female Vorcha she had seen or maybe a side effect of the experiments, she didn't want to know. She didn't look much different to male Vorcha only in height, she was shorter, about four feet if that, but she was still just a child.

"I'm not here to hurt you"

"Are you going to take her away?"

"Take who away?"

"I found her, when I got out one night" She revealed a small stuffed doll, the stitching was shoddy, body parts were missing and the colour had faded.

"No, she'll be our secret" That put a smile on her face, it brightened the room.

"Will you take me away?"

"Do you want to go?"

"...Yes"

"Are they mean to you?"

"Not anymore"

"But you still want to go?"

"Yes"

"Well you shouldn't go anywhere with strangers, so let's introduce ourselves" She sat down and crossed her legs, "I'm Jessica"

"I...I don't have a name, they just call me the girl"

"Well people used to call me The Bitch, they still do in fact. Do you like that name, The Girl?"

"No"

"Do you want to choose a new name?"

"Am I allowed?"

"If you don't have one yes, otherwise what will I call you"

"I don't know...do i have to choose now"

"No, you can take as much time as you want." She held the girls hand, the skin was smooth to the touch, probably due to the burns. "Do you want to go back to your family?"

"No"

"Why not?"

"The man at the window says he is my family, and he used to hurt me"

"Did he seem happy about it?"

"I don't know" She began to cry gently.

"It's ok, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. If you don;t want to be with your family where do you want to go?"

"Far away." Jessica sighed heavily.

"They told me you can't be hurt, is that true?" The girl nodded slowly, "Ok, do you want to come with me?" She nodded. "Ok" Jessica stood up holding the girls hand "Let's go"

They opened the door and were greeted by the sight of guns. Christia and Holi were still in the stand off, the girls grip tightened.

"I'm taking her with me" The Bitch declared

"Where?" Thanx asked, his hand had grown weary and was shaking.

"I don't know yet"

"You can't take her back to Garix"

"But I do need to pay him a visit." She looked around at the Vorcha, she could see the smaller ones whose arms were steady, whose faces were cut and burned, they were the subjects, the others were their torturers. "I will take you all away from here, and we will destroy this ship so no one else knows what happened, all of you who were...treated here if you feel these men deserve life, let them live if not...kill them now" The Vorcha turned their sights on each other, The Bitch pushed her way past, the girl in her grasp, Holi and Christia in tow, she waited for the sound of gunfire, but he expectations weren't met. When they got outside she hailed a handful of shuttles from her ship, for her and the Vorcha, she ordered several heavy explosives to be brought down with them. They loaded the Vorcha first but had their shuttles wait and she and her crew placed the explosives. They headed down through the smog toward Heshtok with fire burning the sky behind them. As they approached the capital building they could see Garix had come out to meet them.

"I need you to hide" She whispered to the girl, ushering her toward the cockpit, "This could go wrong. Holi, Christia, are you ready"

"As I'll ever be" Christia muttered, preparing a Grenade.

"Good enough" The shuttle door opened and Garix walked to greet them.

"I saw the fireworks show, I hope the scum who did this were on board." She nodded slowly. "And my daughter is she safe?" She nodded again. "Where is she?" The Bitch drew her Wraith shotgun and pointed it straight at Garix's forehead, Holi launched her turret toward the guards on the right the flamethrower attachment taking out half, the Rockets took out the others. Christia threw a grenade at the guards on the left, a swarm of yellow dust spread into the air and made a short sharp buzzing sound as it shot into the lungs of the guards, they writhed sorrowfully as they fell to the ground.

"What the fuck was that?"

"I call it pollen, my own invention, a swarm of nano-"

"I call it fucking awesome. There is no way your leaving us now" The Bitch laughed a little, Christia scowled.

"What are you doing?" Garix growled

"Ending this"

"You blew up the ship, you killed the scientists and saved my daughter it's over"

"You were going to start a war"

"I was going to help the Vorcha ascend, the only way we know how"

"You were going to kill thousands, you tortured children, your own child"

"I am willing to do anything it takes to help the Vorcha" She pushed the shotgun forward to touch his skin.

"There's only one thing you can do" She pulled the trigger and stepped onto the building. The other shuttles opened as the Vorcha poured out and inspected the damage.

"Thank you The Bitch, we won't make the same mistakes" Thanx uttered.

"If you do, I'll kill you" She said stepping back onto the shuttle and slamming the door shut behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Christia" The Bitch stepped into the engine room, she pulled her shimmering Golden hair behind her head. Christia was busy monitoring some sort of engineering thing on a datapad, but stopped at the mention of her name. "I'm sorry-"

"We aren't going to Omega"

"No"

"We can't go there now anyway, not with The Girl"

"No"

"I understand, it's not somewhere I'd ever take a child….no offence"

"None taken" The Bitch turned slowly and began to leave, only to stop suddenly. "Did I do the right thing?"

"Taking The Girl? Yes, we couldn't leave her on that planet, with those people"

"I meant all the other stuff"

"…No"

"What should I have done?"

"Well, I would have killed them all" The Bitch nodded slowly and left Christia to her sciency things. She decided to pay Holi a visit before heading to the bridge. Holi was tinkering with her turret when she entered.

"Still have a headache?"

"Always"

"We'll see if we can't find another room for you"

"It's alright, all my things are here now"

"What are you doing anyway?"

"Just making a few adjustments"

"What kind of adjustments?"

"I'm trying to get it to fire rockets, bullets, and the flamethrower at the same time" The Bitch smirked she looked at the assortment of items strewn across the floor and noticed a few grenades.

"Are those Christia's-?"

"Pollen grenades? Yep, I thought I could replace the flame thrower with a pollen thrower"

"Ok, well I'll leave you to it"

"Hang on" Holi closed the compartments on her turret stood up and faced The Bitch.

"Where are you taking The Girl?"

"Somewhere far away, like she asked"

"Where?"

"Tchuchanka, I figured M.T has young family, she might be happy there"

"Will she be safe there?"

"Safer than she'll be here"

"I guess, that's good enough"

"That's the best we can ever hope for" She commented as she stepped out of the doorway and on to the elevator.

It took a while to reach Tchuchanka, but she just slept to pass the time, The Girl had her cabin for the night so she was stuck in the crew quarters, sharing a bunk with Cartwright. M.T was about ready to leave by the time they arrived, he appeared haggard, but eager. His family had gathered with him at the landing area, his pregnant wife and all twelve of his children.

"Hey Bitch" M.T said in a voice as worn out as he was "Let's get off this rock" He laughed.

"I need a word with (M.T's wife) first"

"I'm happy to see you too" M.T strode past and straight onto the shuttle, almost stepping on The Girl as he passed, barely noticing her.

"(Wife) I have a small favour to ask"

"What is it Jessica?" Jessica pulled forward The Girl, and stood behind her, her hands upon The Girls shoulders.

"This is….The Girl" The Girl looked at her feet anxiously.

"The Girl?"

"She doesn't have a name yet, but I was hoping you could provide her a home" (wife) looked The Girl up and down, M.T's children all gazed on in qonder, one of them ran forward to steal The Girls doll, but she scared him off with a hiss. (wife) laughed boisterously.

"She's tough, she'll fit right in, besides it'll be nice to have a girl around for a change, twelve children and all of them male, what are the odds?"

"Thank you (wife)" Jessica knelt down next to The Girl and looked in to her worried little eyes. "You'll be safe here, these are nice people and now you are far far away from the bad ones"

"Thank you" The Girl muttered as she walked toward her new brothers, Jessica took a moment to compose herself before hopping back into the shuttle.

"What was that about?" M.T moaned, almost half asleep.

"You've just adopted a daughter"

"What's her name?"

"Don't know"

"She'll figure it out" He uttered before shortly beginning to snore.

The next stop was Omega, she hadn't heard anything from the council since Heshtok, so she figured they could use some shore leave. It was always quite a sight heading to Omega, The Asteroid lit up with a thousand dazzling lights, It looked serene and Beautiful, however the inside was anything but. Fighting, stealing, smuggling, gambling, stripping, fighting some more, all that could be experienced in a single moment on Omega. It was foul, rotten on the inside, but it was home. The streets were her haunt, the people her ghosts, she left as a mercenary but returns as a Spectre. She wondered who she would visit first, Harrot, who used to give her the odd freebie for protection, () of the blue suns, a rival mercenary group, maybe even Aria would entertain her for once, unlikely but still, it was nice to know she had more sway than she used to, as did the Talons. Ever since they played a major part in Aria retaking Omega they've become one of the Major Mercenary Groups, along with Eclipse, The Blue Suns and The Blood Pack. It was busy when they docked, she could see the lustful eyes gazing at her shiny new ship, they could try and take it, they would fail. She granted all of her team shore leave, however some of them appeared reluctant to exit the ship, they wouldn't be this prejudice on The Citadel she thought, but she held her tongue. She was surprised however at Cartwright's eagerness to see Omega, he probably wouldn't last long she thought, but she held her tongue. Christia left sullenly, and quickly without speaking, she headed straight for Afterlife, no doubt to work in the lower levels for the exclusive guests, The Bitch could probably get in now that she was a Spectre, but she felt like exploring a little first. Her allies all split from her, apart from Cartwright who refused to leave her side, she knew where she could find them however, M.T would be at the bar in Afterlife if not in a holding cell, Holi would be in the lower markets seeing what tech she can get her hands on, Mr Wiggles…..well hopefully he'd come back.

It was smaller than she remembered, it was that damn Captain's Cabin, she knew this status would spoil her. She hadn't slept here much since she joined the Talons, but it was still home, it seemed abandoned, it always seemed that way. She stepped up to the door and forced it open, it never locked, and let herself in. Cartwright decided to stay outside and keep watch, he didn't want to be involved in a crime, although as a Spectre this was probably allowed, maybe, it was her hosue anyway fuck it. It was still empty, a thick icing of dust caked the empty surfaces. She moved a few items examining them thoroughly, but she couldn't recall if she had seen them before, she remembered the building, why couldn't she remember the contents. She walked to the corner of the house she called a room, in reality it was all just one big room, but with just her and her father living there, she found it had plenty of space. Her father was gone now, long gone, since before the Talons, but she remembered he was brave, he was kind, he kept her safe, he wasn't her real father after all he was a Turian, but he loved her all the same, and she loved him. She could remember now, not objects, but events. When her dad had fought off burglars, the sand addict they found passed out in the kitchen on her fifth birthday, the day her mother was shot over an unsettled debt. These are the events that made her who she was today, these are the things that she had to embrace to survive, to thrive, to live. She suddenly felt light headed and decided to leave, Cartwright fell in behind her as she went to find Holi in the markets.

"Little Fish?" A heavy voice called out from behind her, she turned around but could only see two unfamiliar Krogan stood facing her, the crowds slowly began to move away and part as a chubby Volus in gilded armour pushed his way through.

"Pinball!" She shouted a smile lighting her face.

"You know I hate that nickname"

"You know I hate that one" Pinball ushered over the Krogan, who flanked him intimidatingly, she wasn't scared though, she had….Cartwright….well then. "How have you been?" She asked, hesitantly.

"Oh, you know starting fights, winning fights. All good and you Little Fish?"

"Same here really"

"You should see my new ship"

"You have a ship?"

"Oh yes, I've gone into piracy, it's much more profitable than mercenary work, plus if you're good people will fight for you"

"And I suppose these are some of those people?"

"Oh Yes, let me introduce you." He held his hand out to his right "this is Weyrloc Rusk, and that is Weyrloc Jarrar, outcasts since Clan Urdnot took over" He curled his stubby little hand into a stubby little fist. "And who is your bodyguard?"

"This is lieutenant Cartwright, a most formidable opponent I assure you, I struggle just to keep him from charging into combat and slaughtering everyone" Cartwright looked on stunned at the accusation. "He was assigned to my ship when I became a Spectre"

"I applied for Spectre status too you know? But I was beaten in the vote by Renli Nova" He mimed spitting "Good for nothing Engineer"

"Didn't he save a Volus settlement by reprogramming a Cerberus Atlus?"

"Perhaps, but he did nothing after that"

"He was injured in the line of fire"

"And the fool expects to be thrown straight back into it, once he recovers of course" He pretended to spit again "Where is The Warhammer? and Clusterfuck? and the other one…..?" He began to snap his fingers as he looked to the sky.

"MurderTrain?"

"That's the one, he's truly formidable." He shot a glance at Cartwright and his Krogan guard shared a giggle.

"M.T is in the bar or under arrest"

"Of course"

"Holi is over there taking what appears to be a Fornax magazine from a Quarian's stall" Pinball looked over his shoulder and nodded upon seeing said sight. "And Kevalk….."

"He never recovered?"

"No"

"I'm sorry for your loss, I wish I could have fought with him"

"You were an…..able replacement"

"You are quite the warrior" He pondered for a moment. "If you ever get sick of serving the Council, I'm sure I'd be able to find room on my crew for you. you could join my honour guard here."

"Thanks, and if you ever want to help someone in your life I'll give you a call." He laughed at that.

"I'll be waiting eagerly" he patted her on the thigh as he waddled off, his honour guard close behind. She walked toward the stand she pointed out earlier.

"You have to pay for that" The Quarian merchant demanded, his grasp tight around Holi's wrist.

"I was going to" She lied

"Excuse me" The Bitch stated, "I'm a Spectre and this is one of my team, we've been asked to investigate under-age models in Fornax, we need this for an investigation"

"All the models are of legal age according to galactic regulations, it says right there on the front" The Bitch examined the cover to see he was telling the truth.

"Regardless we are going to need it...for free"

"Fine, take your smut, but if I catch you again I will take you to Aria"

"Do you even know Aria?" Holi asked angrily.

"Well...not personally...but still"

"Well then we'll be leaving" They did so casually, as The Bitch brought up her omni tool, and began to fiddle with the screens. "You're getting sloppy Holi"

"I'm just out of practice"

"Is that what you were doing? Practicing?"

"I was until he caught me" The Bitch glanced at the magazine in Holi's hand.

"I don't know what you see in Hanar anyway"

"It's the tentacles"  
"I didn't want to know" She covered her ears

"They can do all kinds of things at once"

"I don't want to know!" She shouted, shortly before her Omni-tool started to emit a signal "Looks like we've found M.T." She checked his location. "Holi look at this" Her allies looked at the Omni-tool.

"That looks like Mordin Solus' former clinic, God rest him" Cartwright interrupted.

"Wait he's at a hospital?"

"Now it's run by Mordin Solus' former assistants."

"Why is he at a hospital?"

"He could be sick" Cartwright uttered, much to Holi and The Bitch's dismay.

"He doesn't _get _sick!" She was defiant, forcing her way through the crowds, her comrades struggling to keep up.

"What the hell M.T?"

"Oh shit" M.T attempted to scurry back into the clinic.

"Why the fuck are you in a hospital?"

"Drinking, Drugs, Fighting, Fucking, take your pick" The Bitch laughed nervously, as she crossed her arms and lent back a little.

"Getting weaker in your age, old man?"

"Still stronger than you, Bitch"

"You wish" He laughed slightly.

"Yeah"

"Well come on, we've got shit to do, but one quick stop to make first"

"We still doing that?"

"Of course"

"Cool"

"How many strip clubs are there on Omega?"

"Too many"

"There can never be too many"

"Heh, agreed"

It was an eventful journey searching for Christia, she was obviously using a fake name so asking wouldn't have helped, it was the sixth club she went into, a high society club based underneath Afterlife, apparently it was Aria's favourite strip club on Omega, but they all claimed that. She finally found her, dancing on a table for a sketchy looking Turian.

"Hey there uh..."

"Rose"

"_Rose, _I'd like a dance, _Rose_"

"It'll cost you, 5000 credits"

"5000, no Spectre discount?"

"That is with our friends and family discount"

"Family?"

"I didn't make the name"

"Well If you'd be so kind as to move, sir"

"But I paid for an hour"

"And you'll be leaving with your teeth" The Turian scuttled off covering his mouth "As you were Chr...ose"

"What do you want?"

"I promised I would embarrass you" She took a seat, they all did, except for Cartwright.

"Ok, fine, this isn't as fulfilling as it was before"

"What?"

"I'll rejoin your crew"

"What?"

"I'll just grab my things"

"What? I paid..." Christia hopped from the table and headed backstage. "I wanted a dance"

"You'll get one" M.T commented, grabbing Holi's arm and thrusting her onto the table.

"I don't dance for money, besides there's a reason Quarian's don't strip"

"Your thighs?" Holi slapped M.T and stormed off offended. "See you on the ship" he laughed.  
"Ok let's go" Christia was holding a small satchel, filled with clothes.

"But my..." She wasn't waiting to hear the end of the sentence.

"Hey!" Shouted a Volus, wearing a bright blue suit. "You can't leave in the middle of your shift" Chritia turned around and stepped toward him, she placed her foot on his shoulder and rolled him onto his back

"I quit" she whispered, marching out of the door.

"My dance..."

"Come one Little Fish" M.T uttered heading to the door and pulling Cartwright away from one of the dancers. The Bitch left sullenly, meeting her crew at the door, Holi with them.

"So Commander?" Cartwright asked, as they heading to the docking bay. "Little Fish?"

"Don't call me that"

"But..."

"Cartwright Don't"

"Aaaww he's just curious" M.T boomed "See Cartwright, she was given that nickname when she joined the Talons, and she's struggled to outgrow it"

"I have outgrown it"

"On the Citadel maybe, but in the Terminus systems, you'll always be a little fish"

"And you'll always be an Old man"

"Until the day I die"

They were waiting for a good hour to leave, but the co-pilot didn't want to leave without Mr Wiggles, and Mr Wiggles was nowhere to be found, he had disengaged his Omni-tool so as to not be tracked.

"Where the hell is Mr Wiggles?"

"His name is.."

"His name is dead if he doesn't show up soon"

"...What?"

"Shutup, nothing, back to work"

"Hey, uh, Bitch" Cartwright mumbled, "There he is" She looked out of the airlock doors, to see Mr Wiggles, both antennae wrapped around two Asari dancers, both looking forlorn that he was leaving.

"Mr Wiggles, you dog" She shouted, inducing jealous glances from the Asari. Mr Wiggles said nothing as he crawled past The Bitch and into the cockpit, the doors closing and the engine starting, they left Omega behind them as they drifted into space.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Keep your distance" She whispered leaning eagerly against Mr Wiggles adapted seat, "Are you sure stealth systems are online?"

"All systems are functioning commander" The Co-pilot said quietly, "They won't see us unless they turn around"

"Good", hey had tracked the Cerberus shuttle from Omega, spotting it by chance as they were leaving, it was heading deep into the Terminus systems to nowhere in particular it seemed. It was moving slower, orbiting an uninhabited planet. "They can't know we're here"

"They won't Commander, we're equipped with state of the art stealth drives" The shuttle began to make a descent.

"Stay orbiting the planet, shut of the engines until I say otherwise, Shields at full. The field team and I will head in."

"Commander" Cartwright was at the entrance to the cockpit, saluting. "Who will join you?"

"M.T, Holi and Cristia"

"Shall I ask them to meet you at the shuttle?"

"Please"

"Very well Commander" He marched off intrepidly, as The Bitch made her way to the shuttle on her own. It had already been prepared, as she ordered when they first started to track the Cerberus troops. She decided to check their lockers to make sure everything was present as asked, She of course had her shotguns, M.T had relinquished his to her, her helmet, and an extra sleeve for her armour, apparently this planet had a dangerous atmosphere. M.T had a replacement shotgun and a couple of slam grenades, he didn't really need them though, he's a cannon all on his own. Holi had three drone modules, two active one backup, three turrets, one of Quarian build, one Geth and the other Cerberus. There was a Phalanx pistol, as well as a Phaeston rifle, a small pile of grenades, shiny things and sweets. The Bitch had seen to Christia's supplies herself, A handful of her Pollen grenades, a Geth made Smg, and a modified Phalanx, although she was counting on Christia knowing a few Biotic abilities. Holi and Christia were the first to arrive, deep in conversation, or an argument, about how to improve the stealth systems. M. T lurched out of the elevator shortly afterwards, his heavy footsteps causing tremors in the cargo hold.

"Sleep well?" She asked with a wicked grin

"Uuhhhh" He groaned stepping onto the Shuttle, tilting it slightly under his weight. The Bitch banged her hand twice against the cabin, the door shut and they set off in pursuit. The Cerberus shuttle had disappeared whilst she was waiting, forcing them to use radar, but as they drew closer to breaching the clouds, the Cerberus shuttle went dark, forcing them to use their eyes like primitives. The shuttle pilot spotted it nearby and took them down to land alongside, Cerberus had abandoned it, not even the pilot remained. She commanded her pilot to return to the ship, they'd call if they needed. Several tracks ran into the bleak grey horizon, five sets of human footprints, but there could be more troops if they kept in single file.

Gunshots echoed from the distance, but in front of them was only rock, dirt, mountains and hills. They sprinted toward the sound, weapons drawn and abilities charged, ready to fight their enemy. As they breached the peak of the hill they noticed Cerberus were fighting with an unrecognised enemy, but they didn't have time to survey the situation, they leapt into action, almost literally, as M.T flew into the foray of battle knocking a Cerberus Centurion to the ground and stomping on him to make sure. The Bitch Shot off a few omni-arrows, and managed to hit a trooper right between the eyes. Holi tossed a turret out, which immediately began spewing Pollen, her upgrades had worked it seemed, whilst Christia threw Trooper's into the air before slamming them down in a magnificent biotic explosion. The Alien race ceased firing, and began to tend to their wounded as The Bitch and Co tore through the miniscule Cerberus offensive. Eventually after a few gut shots, a couple of grenades and one guy being torn in half the Cerberus attack was halted, and the Alien race began to crowd round. They had large black eyes, and pale white skin, the appeared insectoid at a glance, wearing mismatched armour cobbled together from Turian, Asari, Volus even Cerberus. They each had four arms however, and one stepped forward carrying two rifles at once, he wasn't very tall, none of them were, they couldn't have breached five feet at most. She noticed they all wore long slicked back dreadlocks, hanging freely down their backs, and their tiny little mouths appeared to contain not only teeth but mandibles on the inside as well. The one who stepped forward began to talk.

"Vesarr Relei eri jhot foss lerrerr" He shouted, she activated a translation module. "These Aliens Srhike Ves Repinture" They all began to lower their weapons, as the leader did so, "They jei not be our werrass, but they are our ally!" He turned to face them "I am Prince Jedirrass, Kollarrit of the Sidae army"

"I am The Bitch, Spectre of The Citadel, and Commander of my Ship…Kevin"

"I am pleased to meet you The Bitch, but please tell us why you killed these men"

"Orders" She answered coldly, "Why did you kill them?"

"Orders" He replied, he waved his hand and his men began to move in pairs, parting to leave an island around them. "My men will continue to hunt, and scavenge" he stated turning and walking through the line, "I will lead you to our Queen, I am sure she will be most eager to meet you"

They followed him hesitantly. "You are Female, yes?" He asked

"I am and so are, my two comrades, Christia and Holi" She pointed to them respectively. "M.T back there is an old man"

"Ah, well, he may be permitted, if he is under your rule"

"My rule?"

"Or command, however you wish to identify it. The Queen does not entertain men, especially not free men" She pondered on that statement, free men, why would this Queen be more open to the thoughts of slaves. She discarded the thought and replaced it with one involving an Asari, two Krogan and a hell of a lot of Vaseline. In the distance there was a bright amber glow emanating through the deep grey fog from a divot in the ground. Small lanterns lit the pathway toward it, held up on crooked poles, some lay on the floor smashed, their entrails leaking across the path. "This is Thivven, our home, the Queen lives deep in the centre" He keyed in a combination, and what appeared to be the airlock door from a Salarian vessel, opened revealing a bright world underneath the surface. Lights of yellow, orange, gold and red lit up the tunnels and bridges that spread throughout the caverns, several other doors looted from alien ships line the walls, and signs hung above them indicating shops where there were some and houses where there weren't. Many similar looking Sidae were walking throughout the various spiralling pathways, most of them stopping to stare at The Bitch and her companions as they were led deeper into the ground. Eventually after many tunnels, arches bridges and steps they reached a large cavern, where a large female sat upon a large stone throne, her dreadlocks were intertwined in a tight spiral that draped over her shoulder and across her body, she wore flowing silken robes, but her rotund body was well visible. She had the same large black eyes and pale white skin, and she sat with her stubby arms in her lap. Two smaller, thinner females sat either side of her.

"Mother" Prince Jedirrass bowed as he declared.

"I am your Queen Jedirrass, and you will address me as such"

"Forgive me I-"

"Just because you clambered out of my cunt does not give you any special right"

"Please, Queen Thillarra, I meant no offense"

"Well you caused plenty of it when you revealed the stubby little cock between your legs"

"Mother!"

"Your Majesty!" She shouted with anger, causing her daughters to giggle. "Where is your hunting party?"

"I sent them to hunt without me, I felt this matter to be urgent…Your Majesty" Jedirrass stepped to one side, and bowed his head yet again.

"Abandoning your squadron? I never should have given you command. I had hoped you'd be dead already"

"Thank you, Your Majesty"

"Who are these aliens?"

"They fought with us against the invaders, they saved many lives with their prowess in battle"

"A pity they saved yours" She looked into The Bitches eyes, "Well step forward then, you have an audience with the Queen, try not to look too happy"

"Queen…." The Bitch began, pausing nervously

"Thillarra"

"Thillarra. We come in peace"

"Everyone comes in peace, until they find the thing they want." She leant forward her fat belly bulging, "What is it you want?"

"The same thing you do, to kill Cerberus, the invaders"

"And why should we believe you? Hmm, could you not be Cerberus?"

"Well no, we're much better looking" The Queen laughed at this, her daughters joined in. "We believe Cerberus was looking for something, we need to find it first"

"What do you think they are looking for?"

"We don't know, we were hoping you had an idea"

"The artefact?" Jedirrass interrupted

"Jedirrass, Leave us"

"What artefact? Jedirrass stay"

"No, Jedirrass leave! He cannot stay, men like him have such feeble minds, talking strategy to them is a waste of time and breath"

"What is the artefact?"

"Simmarra?" The Queen turned to the daughter to her right. Simmarra stood, her dress hugged to her figure, revealing quite a buxom form, she stepped forward slowly, gliding elegantly down the steps and standing in front of The Bitch, her hair was in a similar fashion to her mothers, only white in colour as opposed to black.

"The artefact of which my insubordinate brother speaks" She placed a hand on Jedirrass' shoulder at the mention of his name. "Fell from the sky many thousands of years ago. A gigantic metal shell, with technology far beyond our comprehension, by utilising the weapons and the energy it emitted we were able to build Thivven and become the apex race on our planet"

"But" Interrupted the other daughter, her hair was ragged and she wore slightly damaged body armour, "There was a price"

"Those who used the weapons began to hear voices, demons, that clouded their vision"

"There was a rebellion"

"The possessed attacked and tried to enslave and overthrow our bloodline"

"So they were imprisoned"

"The artefact was sealed away, the cursed weapons hidden from touch and sight, we attempted to build our own technology, in a similar manner, it works but not quite as well."

"Was this artefact a Reaper?" The Bitch asked the obvious question. Thillarra hopped from her seat and placed her hands behind her back.

"Have you encountered these before?"

"We have, we recently won a war against them"

"How!?"

"I punched one to death, the others got real scared and surrendered"

"Then you know what they can do"

"Yes, and I know that Cerberus want that technology, they want to use it to assimilate me, you and every other race in the universe, we have to destroy it" Thillarra pondered for a moment.

"It is too valuable to be destroyed"

"Cerberus won't stop until they have that technology, is it worth your lives, your freedom?" Jedirrass chortled at that. The Bitch continued, "If you help us destroy this technology, we will give you better" Thillarra began listening intently. "I noticed the armour of your hunting parties was mostly scavenged, well we can give you armour made to your specifications, we can give you weapons suited to your needs, and we can give you a place on the Citadel, the centre of galactic society, new homeworlds, open trade, money. Help us destroy this technology and we will help you to rise"

"Jedirrass!" Thillarra shouted, "Lead them to the artefact, help them destroy it, if you begin to hear voices in your head. Kill yourself"

"At once your majesty" Jedirrass lead them form the great cavern and through a dark narrow path that lead down.

"So she seems nice" The Bitch said clapping her hands together.

"She…is my Queen" Jedirrass spat the words through narrow teeth.

"She's also your mother"

"I'm not entitled to any of her possessions, she does not have to treat me as family, it was a kindness to give me my post as Hunt Master"

"So what's the deal with that?" M.T asked

"With what?"

"Why does she treat you like shit?"

"Because I was born a male, the power to give life is sacred, men are just a tool used once and discarded."

"Glad I don't live here"

"It is not the same elsewhere?"

"Hell, no" Jedirrass stopped dead in his tracks

"Take me with you."

"What?" The Bitch exclaimed stunned

"I cannot take the humiliation, the torture anymore. When you leave let me join you"

"I'll think about it, let's just focus on the Artefact for now"

"The door is close, The Vault is our most secure room, nothing can get in or out, and I don't know why anyone would want to" as they rounded a corner, a small light flickered in the distance, a Volus vault door was ahead of them, with a small keypad by its side. "The code is changed every day, by me personally" he keyed in a few digits and the doors began to slide open, a thick orange glow filled the tunnel, as bullets flew from the gap in the door.

"Get down!" The Bitch shouted, pulling Holi to one side of the door, M.T grabbed Christia and Jedirrass and pushed them to the other side. "Jedirras what is happening!?"

"We trapped some workers in here, the one who moved the artefact, they sacrificed themselves willingly to avoid becoming possessed"

"I don't think that worked"

"They should be dead, it's been over two hundred millennia since the artefact was sealed away"

"Two hu….nevermind, Holi drones, get a reading on how many targets there are" Holi sent out a small orange drone, "Only six, but they're reaper troops"

"Any you recognise?"

"No"

"Ok Christia Pollen, Holi I want you and Jedirras to hold the door, use your turrets make sure no one gets past, M.T-" M.T shot past charging into one of the Sidae husks and smashed him to the edge of the vault into the magma below, "-Charge" She uttered. She ripped her shotguns out and ran forward, a well-placed shot knocking another reaper off the edge, a Pollen grenade exploded toward her left, overloading the Reaper troop and causing it to collapse, she kicked it over the edge hesitantly. Jedirrass ran past her shooting two assault rifles at one, tearing through the Sidae husks fragile skin. M.t grabbed one of the remaining two hostiles and threw it at the last remaining one, causing both of them to plummet. "Everyone back!" She shouted, her allies reconvening at the door of the vault.

"How could they survive for so long?"

"They weren't Sidae anymore, they were husks, Reaper made troops, shadows of their former selves."

"But how…?"

"They're dead now that's all that matters" she looked at the edge of the vault, it was a thick platform hovering over a pit of magma, probably leading down into the core of the planet. "We need to destroy the ledge"

"What?"

"Are all the Reaper weapons in there?"

"Yes"

"And all of the other technology?"

"Yes"

"Then we can't waste time, throwing each one individually into the core, we need one big explosion to destroy it all"

"I'll grab some explosives" M.T murmured

"No need" Holi shouted holding out a remote detonated miniature warhead.

"Holi, how long have you had that?" Christia asked.

"For emergencies"

"I said how long-"

"For, emergencies"

"Ok Holi prep the explosives, M.T toss the cadaver"

"B..But"

"What is it Jed?"

"The Artefact, the core, the explosion"

"That's the plan"

"Won't it destroy our planet?"

"That's a risk we're all taking" She placed a hand on his shoulder. M.T threw both halves of the last corpse into the magma below, as Holi scanned the ledge and dug a small hole in the ideal spot. Once it was buried they left the Vault and Jedirrass closed the door.

"How far away should we go?" The Sidae asked

"Holi?" The Bitch inquired

"This is a Volus made door, impervious to all kinds of damage, and really difficult to hack into, if there's one thing they love it's money"  
"So we're safe?" Jedirrass questioned

"Let's find out!" The Bitch shouted, slamming her hand onto the remote detonator. The earth rumbled slowly around them, Holi fell flat on her face, M.T leant back against the wall, Jedirrass was pacing up and down mumbling under his breath and Christia was grasping tightly to the Bitches arm. A few lumps of dirt fell from the roof landing at their feet, they heard a loud hissing sound and then a second loud explosion, this one bigger than the first. They probably should have ran, she thought standing with her free hand under her chin, the other still firmly under Christia's control, Jedirrass was now cowering his hands covering his ears, or at least the small holes where his ears would have been. Eventually the tremors faded and they managed to regain composure.

"Are you fucking crazy!?" Jedirrass yelled.

"Maybe" M.T responded on her behalf.

"We could have all died!"

"But we didn't" The Bitch replied this time

"But we could have!"

"But we didn't"

"Oh Gods, I have to explain all this"

"No you don't, we did it. It was our decision" She looked at her shaken comrades, and merrily skipped away back through the dark tunnels.

"Still want to come with us?" M.T asked patting Jedirrass on the back and walking away

By the time they arrived at the royal chamber, a crowd had gathered, hundreds of Sidae not looking too happy. The hunting party looked to have returned and were busy trying to keep the the crowd from bursting in, the Queens daughter, the one wearing armour was leading the guard.

"You have some explaining to do Jedirrass" The Queen bellowed as they walked into the fray.

"Jedirrass saved my life!" The Bitch declared, silence fell upon the room, "This man saved us all by destr0ying the cursed artefact and freeing the eternal suffering of its prisoners" She said in the most dramatic of tones, "If anyone here deserves thanks, respect and gratitude it is him" The Queen stirred restlessly on her throne.

"Is this true Jedirrass?" She asked folding her stubby little arms and legs, The Bitch pushed the heel of her hand into Jedirrass' back and forced him forward.

"It….is?"

"Very well then" She cleared her throat "My People, fear not, the noise you heard and the earthquake that you felt, were the result of the heroic actions of our very own Hunt Master Jedirrass Sillia. He, along with a handpicked team of the finest alien allies managed to find and destroy the Artefact of legend ending it's multi millennial long reign of terror, which should in turn lead to Thivven no longer being attacked by the wicked army of Cerberus. Jedirrass step forward" He did as he was bid, "Sidae people I present to you our saviour" a cheer rippled thoughout the crowd eventually building to a crescendo, before simmering down. "As is worthy of our saviour I will grant you anything you desire" Jedirrass pondered for a moment, he looked back to The Bitch and her team, then gazed across the crowd of people staring at him, before finally looking to both of his sisters.

"I wish leave, so that I might become an ambassador in the Galactic community for the benefit of our people" The crowd listened eagerly

"Very well, I grant you the title of Ambassador Jedirrass, you will broker communications in the Galactic community on behalf of the Sidae," She leant in close and whispered, "Don't fuck this up" before retreating to her throne. The Sidae people began cheering some stepped forward to congratulate Jedirrass, a pat on the back, a shake of the hand, his armour wearing sister even hugged him. Eventually the crowd trickled away leaving only the royal family and The Bitches crew. The queen shrugged exaggeratedly "Well why are you still here Jedirrass?"

"I will need an escort, may I choose my own?"

"Do as you wish" She shooed him away.

"Your majesty?" The Bitch queried, as she watched Jedirrass hurry away.

"You may call me Thillarra, dear"

"Thillarra, Jedirrass mentioned that the artefact had been around for two thousand millennia"

"That is true"

"Care to explain?"

"Simarra?" The elegant daughter stepped up

"The artefact crashed down two million one hundred and sixty years ago, our ancestors sealed it away in a primitive vault, that we upgrade every opportunity we get, we have shared the story with every new generation"

"How long do you live for? On average?"

"Two hundred years"

"So your ancestors fought the reapers?"

"No, They hid"

"Hid?"

"Thivven was expanded, so that we could all live underground, we used up all of the resources we found, eventually heading to the surface to scav...to hunt"

"Why didn't you find another planet?"

"Some of our ancestors tried, we lost contact with them, we fear them deceased"

"Is that all, Bitch, you are trying my patience?" The Queen boomed, rubbing her forehead wearily.

"I suppose Jed can fill me in"

"Pray he doesn't, you'll only be disappointed."

"I'll take my leave if that's ok, I'm sure Jed needs a lift anyway"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

They had received a message on the way to the Citadel, a message from Cerberus.

"We know it's you causing us no small amount of grief Jessica. We wish to discuss a truce, you keep out of our hair and we will let you and your team live. To agree to our terms meet one of our agents at the Hungry Varren restaurant on the Embassy level of the Citadel. Come alone and unarmed, so will he. We look forward to meeting you"

"Are they Geth now?" Holi asked snidely

"What's the plan commander?" Cartwright asked as his hand touched his forehead. She gazed at her team, M.T was breathing heavily, but smiling, a smile she knew all too well. Christia was sat at the table in the command centre, looking disinterested, as was Mr Wiggles. Holi was pacing nervously he footsteps causing whispered clanks and clunks to ring through the room. Jedirrass appeared most confused, or angry, or upset, she hadn't quite got the hang of reading Sidae emotions yet.

"We need to introduce Jed and his team to the council, that's most important" The Sidae had brought a dozen in his honour guard, all of them male.

"Thank you Bitch" He bowed slightly the light reflecting off his shiny white scalp.

"But first" She interrupted "We need to make a quick detour" She smiled.

The council weren't very happy when she introduced them to the Sidae,

"They are unevolved" warned, Valern, the Salarian "What if we have another Krogan uprising on our hands?"

"The Sidae aren't nearly as aggressive" she argued,

"They haven't been examined, what if they are diseased?" Tevos, The Asari added

"Then I'd already be dead" She protested

"What can these 'Sidae' contribute to the Galaxy?" Sparatus, The Turian air quoted

"What did the Vorcha?"

"Commander Minnows" Hackett spoke smoothly, "Why have you brought this race here?"

"As a Spectre I must do all I can to accomplish my mission, my mission was to investigate Cerberus. Cerberus in turn were investigating the Sidae. After eliminating my opponents, I made an effort to-"

"_You_ made an 'Effort'?"

"Yes, _I_ made an effort to find out why. This search led me to a hidden vault, protected by the Sidae, containing a Dead Reaper and it's technology. I don't think I need to tell you how dangerous a Reaper is, dead or alive" The councillors glanced at each other.

"Continue" Hackett pleaded

"To access this vault I needed to make a deal with the Sidae, They are no threat to us, they have mismatched armour and weapons scavenged from crashed ships. I promised them weapons, armour, ships and a voice in the galactic community. Prince jedirrass will be that voice." She held out her hand, as Jedirrass stepped forward.

"It is an honour to meet you"

"What do you 'need' Jedirrass?"

"I need you only let me speak, and hear what I have to say"

"We will do as such, but in private, Minnows you are dismissed" Hackett smiled slightly, his words were warm. The Bitch patted Jedirrass on the back before stepping out of the Council chambers and heading for the Embassies.

She couldn't see anyone who looked like Cerberus when she approached, but I guess they were making sure she was alone and unarmed. She approached an empty table, near the balcony, and sat down lazily, she slouched back picked up a menu and looked over the meal deals.

"Jessica?" Someone asked, she looked up to see an unfamiliar human. He was smiling menacingly, he had short black hair and was wearing a very fancy suit, his eyes were a metallic blue, and very off putting.

"Yes?"

"I left you a message" He smiled grimly

"Oh nice to finally meet you" She stood and shook his hand, to his surprise, "Sorry I never caught your name?"

"My name isn't important my mess-

"Man of mystery, I like it" She sat back down eagerly, the stranger joined him and cleared his throat.

"My message is"

"What?"

"What?"

"Your message is what?"

"Important"

"No I got that, Jesus you'd think I was some kind of idiot, What is your message?"

"You cannot-"

"Welcome to the Hungry Varren my name is Valai I will be your server today, can I start you with some drinks"

"No I'm fine thank you" The stranger hissed

"Go on, my treat" She held out a credit chit.

"Fine….uh…water please"

"One water and for you miss"

"Ryncol, wait, half a Ryncol, I'm driving."

"Ok, I'll be right back to take your food order" The Quarian server left

"You were saying?"

"We cannot be stopped"

"Well I seem to be doing a pretty good job of it so far"

"You are just a puppy chasing its tail, there is a plan in motion far greater than you understand"

"Firstly I'm a cat person. Secondly, try me, I'm pretty smart"

"You have been our enemy for a long time"

"Like three months tops"

"We aren-"

"One water" the server placed the drink down in front of the stranger.

"Uh…Thank you"

"And the half Ryncol, are you ready to order?"

"We won-"

"Yes, I'll have the Varren steak, with fries please, and my friend here will have the….oh…you have to try the Cheeseburger"

"I don-"  
"He'll have the cheeseburger"

"Do you want Earth blue or Illium red? We're all out of the Fleet White I'm afraid"

"Surprise us" The server took the menus and smiled as she skipped away

"I'm a vegetarian"

"Oh it's ok" She took a sip, "Anyway" she gestured for the Stranger to continue.

"I..uh…we aren't who you think"

"You aren't Cerberus?"

"We were, but we have evolved"

"So now you're working for the reapers?"

"We work for nobody, we serve nobody, we know that the Reapers were false, but they gave new life to so many"

"Husks, Banshees, Brutes?"

"The next stage in evolution, it was sloppy work but with the right man behind it, we can become so much more than humanity."

"And the right man is illusive?"

"Even to us"

"You've never seen him?" The Stranger paused

"He doesn't see anyone, anymore, after Shepard assaulted Cronos station, he won't risk leaving any clues as to his whereabouts."

"But he still exists"

"We still receive his orders and hear his voice"

"Good, so I may have some use for you"

"We may have use for you also"

"How so?"

"We need access that you have, every Spectre is hunting us, all fools on an errand, yet all thorns in our paws"

"You already know my answer"

"Then I have a new proposal, the same one I have offered to every other Spectre. Leave us be."

"And how did they respond?"

"Negatively, but respectfully"

"Well I can do half of that" She took another sip.

"You don-"

"Here's your food, one Varren steak with fries and one Cheeseburger surprise also with fries"

"Thank you, Valai" She smiled once more before leaving. "See, I know her name"

"You don't realise what we are doing, resisting us, means you will die, now or later."

"As I said, try me"

"The Raloi, Vorcha, Sidae, Kilik. Why do you think the Reapers let them be?"

"They weren't advanced enough"

"Precisely, and that was their folly. These are untapped resources, armies in the making, a few augmentations and even veterans like you will be scared"

"Scared?"

"People always fear the unknown. Humans become Husks, Turians Marauders, Asari banshees, you said it yourself. Each of these you have fought and killed but can you even fathom what a reaper augmented Raloi will look like?"

"So you're building an army. What happened to the old Cerberus, who would infiltrate and brainwash? That was more fun."

"Sometimes a fist works better than a handshake, you of all people should know that" He reached for a fry.

"Oh no, you aren't eating"

"I thought I had to try it"

"You lost your chance to" The Stranger paused and reached for his belt

"I didn't think you would be as lenient as the others" He placed a Phalanx pistol on the table in front of him. "I never in-"

"Is everything OK you guys" Valai asked, sporting a whimsical smile.

"Just perfect Valai, Thank you" The Bitch answered, "Oh, Valai, How much do you make a night?"

"Two hundred credits if I'm lucky"

"Here's a thousand" She threw the credit chit at the server, "Let your manager know I'll pay for any damages"

"Dama-?" Valai spotted the pistol and nervously hurried away. The Bitch snatched a fry from The strangers plate.

"You see, the mistake with your message, this is delicious by the way, was the word if. You said _if_ I was to agree terms I should come unarmed, but I never intended to agree so…"

"I watched you, you have no weapons, I wouldn't have sat down if you had"

"On the contrary, I have four weapons." She nodded over to a table, "See that Quarian nursing a milk shake, who looks like she's been stood up? And the little ring box in front of her?" The stranger nodded, "That isn't a ring box, it's a turret, she and my head engineer designed it, now being so small it's not the most powerful, but it'll definitely take out your shields which is when" She pointed behind him "The big imposing muscular looking Drell, he's a mercenary I used to know on Omega, he owes me one, his name is Rellink, cool guy, loves football, you should meet him. Sorry, when your shields go down he….will….move out of the way so that my friend M.T can punch you in the back of the head, M.T's the Krogan by the way." The stranger looked over his shoulder, as M.T waved politely.

"You aren't going to kill me, you said you need me. To tell you everything I know"

"You've already told me, well at least where to start looking, Kilik wasn't it?" She smiled victoriously, "Anyway M.T won't kill you"

"Then what will?"

"Ah but that's where my third weapon comes into play, over on that upper balcony way across from us" She gestured out to the other side of an expanse, "That's where another of my friends, Jesus I'm popular, is waiting with his rifle" She activated her omni-tool. "Where are you aiming Ravinski?"

"At his head"

"I would have preferred his balls"

"I didn't say which head" She looked back to the stranger who was still trying to spot Ravinski.

"Ravinski is a Raloi, one of the guys you failed to recruit, he's an excellent shot, I don't know if you know this but the Raloi don't actually need a scope on their sniper rifles, because to them a normal rifle _is_ a sniper rifle"

"That's all impressive Jessica, but I only count three"

"I stole your gun while you were distracted"

"Oh"

"Yeah" She pointed the gun at his chest.

"What good is that pistol if your friend over there is going to kill me"

"This isn't to shoot you with"

"It's not?"

"This is the signal" She shot twice into the air, the customers and staff from the restaurant began to scatter, a bolt of electricity leapt from the miniature turret and took down the strangers shields, paralyzing him momentarily, Rellink fell sideways to the ground as M.T, biotics charged, flew forward and smashed The Strangers head into the table, The Bitch just managed to move his plate out of the way. A final shot echoed throughout the Citadel as the Strangers skull exploded, leaving a mesh of blood and bone, muscle and sinew across the table and the floor. She grabbed his cheeseburger and took a large bite of the bloodstained meat. "Earth Blue, that is a surprise"

They stepped into the elevator

"You still owe me Rellink"

"Do I?"

"Yes, I'm going to pay you for this job, I might need you later."

"Fine" There was a long pause

"How are things going on the Raloi homeworld, Ravinski?"

"Fine, They are voting next month"

"Voting on what?"

"The new Primeminister"

"New-"

"The King and Emperor agree we need to join the Citadel, that's a start, but we have a long way to go to regain the Council's trust, and they agree on little else. So I suggested we create a third ruling party, elected by the people and speaking for the people, that way a two thirds vote passes a bill, and we can begin to prove ourselves in the eyes of the galaxy"

"Who are the candidates?"

"It's a Ghost vote, everything is anonymous"

"Sounds like Chaos"

"That's just the way we like it" They stepped from the elevator into the docking bay, The Bitch strode along triumphantly, dried blood spattered in her shimmering blonde hair, Holi, M.T and Ravinski were close behind her. At the base of the boarding ramp to her ship she spotted a handful of short pale aliens.

"Hey Jed!" She shouted waving a hand wildly through the air.

"Bitch, it is good to see you, you look….."

"Bloody"

"That too"

"What brings you here?" She folded her arms, and leant back slightly.

"I am here to tell you the good news"

"Whoa whoa wait, good news exists?!" M.T exclaimed

"I thought it was just a legend" Holi added

"Yes Have you not noticed our new armour and arms?" He did a small twirl to show off, the armour appeared Salarian made, Black with white markings across the torso and legs, the weapons were crafted by Turians with geth enhancements, powerful but small and with reduced recoil allowing much more capable dual wielding.

"Fancy, How'd you get them?"

"The other races wished to study us, so we made a deal, they provide us with armour and weapons made to our specifications, three sets for every one Sidae they study and we in turn allow them to study us, we even have a scientific envoy preparing to embark to our planet, with a small escort of mine of course"

"Nice one Jed, you'll make an excellent politician"

"There was one odd thing, all of the Asari I've spoken to are women"

"All Asari are women"

"Ah" He thought for a second, "Please don't tell mother"

"I'm not planning on it" She started to board her ship

"There was one last thing, we have been given permission to colonise a few planets within our system, these are planets that our ancestors attempted to colonise thousands of years ago, the ones we lost contact with."

"So you might find out what happened to your people?" The Bitch commented

"That is the hope"

"Well, be careful Jed"

"I'm not going"

"You aren't?"

"I love it here, aboard the Citadel, the technology, the food, the other races. This is where I am meant to be, and I owe it all to you, Bitch" She was shocked at the accusation. "If you hadn't given me credit for the actions in the vault, I would still be scavenging, one of my sisters may be in this position, or worse yet my mother. If there is anything I can do for you, do not hesitate to ask"

"Cool, I'll think of something"

"Take your time, I am in no rush to die today" He laughed and said his farewells as he and his escorts left the scene. The Bitch and her crew boarded her ship and set out toward the Kilik homeworld.


End file.
